With classes at Notre Dame started and preparation for Navy underway, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly will meet with the assembled meeting for his weekly Tuesday press conference at noon. And while there’s no indication that he’s ready to name a signal-caller for the season opener against the Midshipmen, it’s time to give up the worst kept secret in South Bend: Everett Golson is going to be the starting quarterback.

The talented sophomore has been locked in a camp battle with junior Andrew Hendrix, who worked his way into the rotation last season at quarterback as Tommy Rees struggled down the stretch. But Golson, who sat out last season and saved a year of eligibility, has captivated Kelly with his skill-set, and answered many of the questions the head coach had about his maturity and ability to lead a football team, prerequisites for the quarterback that’ll likely determine Brian Kelly’s fate as the head of the Fighting Irish.

Golson’s redshirt season was one spent adjusting to the college game and the academic rigors of Notre Dame. It was also a season where the young talent needed a healthy dose of humility. Eric Hansen, in the Sunday edition of the South Bend Tribune, wonderfully encapsulates Golson’s freshmen struggles, where is lack of attention to schoolwork and the playbook cost him a chance to contribute last season.

Midway through the 2011 season, Golson and Hendrix were competing for a minor role in the Irish offense — the change-up quarterback.

It was a concept Kelly began toying with, at least in the meeting room, the previous spring after talking to Urban Meyer, who tag-teamed then-freshman Tim Tebow with senior Chris Leak in a national title run at Florida in 2006. But Kelly was slow to employ the concept in a game in the fall of ’11, and had a tough time separating Hendrix and Golson as the top candidate for that role — until Golson sort of did it for him at midseason.

He began to struggle in the classroom, more of a sign of lack of maturity than anything else, and his attention to detail when it came to being on time and focused for meetings, for example, was far from perfect.

“I can admit I wasn’t the best at that,” he said.

Golson then was demoted to scout team for the remainder of the season. His job, at that point, was to learn the opposing team’s plays and run their offenses in practice against ND’s No. 1 defense. The decline, though, started to gain traction all the way back in August training camp in 2011.

“I thought I was ready to compete for the starting spot,” said Golson, the sixth-most prolific TD thrower in U.S. high school history. “Going through fall camp, I kind of saw my reps go down a little bit. I was a little bit discouraged at first.

“It kind of humbled me. Now, that I look back at it, I’m glad I went down to the scout team, ’cause it made me realize I have to start at ground zero and work my way back up.”

The way back up included a breakthrough performance in the annual Blue-Gold Game, where Golson was the most impressive of the four quarterbacks and seemed to show a solid mastery of the offense while also flashing his prodigious physical gifts. But up until that final televised practice of spring, Golson quietly struggled with his role at Notre Dame, so much so that one source tells me he considered transferring for much of the offseason until that performance.

Those concerns are in the past now, with Golson’s work and commitment to football this summer getting him up to speed with the offense. (Also fortuitous to his candidacy was the offseason arrest of incumbent quarterback Tommy Rees, allowing Kelly and offensive coordinator Chuck Martin the ability to hit the hard reset after two seasons in South Bend.) That commitment has shown during training camp, where Golson has slowly taking control of the position battle.

Kelly has done his best to stay mum about his quarterback choice — whether it be for strategic advantage or because he’s not ready to make the decision. Yet clues all around the program point to Golson. Whether it’s teammates past and present raving about his athleticism, in-depth profiles like the one Hansen wrote, or the mobs of media surrounding the sophomore at Media Day, if it’s not announced today it’s only a matter of time before the Irish are led by Golson when they step onto the field at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The announcement would be the culmination of ND Nation’s hopes for the young quarterback with dynamic running and passing ability. It will also be the cherry on top of a really impressive fall camp where Golson played his way into the role of starting quarterback.

“We’ve had 126 throwing opportunities with Everett,” Kelly recounted last week, talking about the live 11 on 11 passing snaps for the young quarterback. “He’s had one interception. You build trust. You don’t just give it, you build trust.”

It’s a relevant question. Yahoo! lists him six feet tall and 185 lbs. He’s going to have to deal w/ much bigger men on the defensive line. But word on the street is that he is v. quick and has a great arm and seems to be very patient. Those are the kinds of qualities we need in a quarterback.

I will put an end to the size debate right here and now. First Drew Brees is a good example, Michael Vick isn’t much bigger then six feet. Want a college example? I give you Chase Daniel at Missouri. He was also about six feet. Hey don’t knock the choice he was 4th in Heisman voting in 2007. His career completion percent was 68 percent. He also threw 101 TD versus only 41 INT. He threw for more then 4000 yards in two season, combine with 30 or more touchdowns. Golson throws for more then 4000 yards in a year with 30 touchdowns and less then 19 INT and completion percent 60 or above at ND…HE WINS THE HEISMAN!

Ha, sure I do … but I’m sick or sarcasm … sick of losing … sick of having to joke about ND to ease the pain of being an underachieving school. Sick of new coaches, new regimes, new recruits and same results … sick of losing to USC …. Tulsa’s of the world and being murdered on ESPN.

Kellly needs to have a big year, far as I’m concerned 8 wins and a bunch of fancy speeches and red faces shouldn’t keep him around again. Weis had more success. ouch.

Then the second paragraph. You just completely contradicted yourself. You are sick of all those things, but then you want to fire kelly after only THREE seasons and just start the process all over again. Are you kidding me? Are you aware that if we win 8 games this year it will be the first time in 18 years we have strung together 3 8 win seasons? You just want to throw away the stability thats starting to get built after just three seasons. Give him 5 years at the minimum. What other option does ND really have?

Bleeder, it doesn’t take a Tyron Matthieu to figure this out. Who else? He should just announce it already and start game planning. He’s not doing the team any favors by waiting til last minute, it’s not like we got ace in the hole. Only ace in the hole we be got is a hemorrhoid.

I would have thought the same thing…until I watch the video. While in high school when Golson had to move his eyes were normally down field. Something tells me he throws for more TDs then he runs. Just a thought…I’m happy either way.

Oh my gosh. Get over Crist. He was 4-5 when he got hurt, and then came back and played horrible against USF, then fumbled his last chance away vs USC. Good guy im sure, probably will do well in Kansas, had no future at QB at ND. Move on already…

getting close to game one. we were so confident last year with Crist, and then with Rees, and then with Hendrix, and then with Rees or Crist.
So now it is GOLSON! and it is. may I fast forward(a no no I know). to the Michigan game. Denard Robinson, looking at the field tv, remarking to a fellow player: look, they are running some of my past touchdown runs and touchdown passes.” No, Denard, that’t now and that’s the NOtre Dame quarterback, GOLSON. NOtice that he runs faster, and passes more accuately. and he does!

Disagree.
He knows who the QB will be. The QBs know. The team knows.
Why not make them keep grinding and competing for another week?
Announcing now, while offering us some short term gratification, is essentially meaningless

I thought ND’s secondary was sub par last year. The Michigan State game was a great example of this. This year’s secondary will be just as good if not better simply because BK has brought a higher level of talent to ND. Additionally the defensive line and linebackers will shut down the run. Everyone will know the pass is coming, there will be no surprises.

Gunner actually went pretty fast, faster than Golson if I remember. Truth be told, it probably has a little to do with race, but a lot more to do with his slight build and running nature. If you’re aware of possibilities to run, it makes the defense respect your legs.

To be honest I am not worried about EG turning the ball over. He will have so many big time plays that it will make up for his miscues. I am very excited for our team this year. We have speed and talent all over the football field.
And I am going to say it now. We will beat both Michigan teams..!!
The Lo wood injury is not a good thing, but really I don’t think it was a big time blow to our D.
Go Irish.!

Crist was 4-5 when he got hurt???? You might want to check your facts on that. Rees lost the Tulsa game not Crist. Congrats tough guy fan, Crist gets one half to play while Rees gets all season to suck. Different rules for different people under Kelly. It’s s free country so I’m going to root and watch Crist on this season. You obviously missed the whole point of my post. Kelly tried jamming his lousy system down DCs throat instead of building the offense around his talents but it’s over and all I know is ND still doesn’t have a QB. I personally want to see the reactions of people in ND nation when Crist is in the NFL while Rees is riding pine getting ready to move on to a 9-5 job.

The national media is ready to jump on CBK the minute it looks like Crist is succeeding in his old system while ND plays the revolving door QB game to a 2-2 record going to Chicago.

Different rules for different people under Kelly? I find it amusing that there are fans who only get to see the players in games, think that they know better than the coach who sees the players in practice as well. I’m no Tommy fan, but Crist didn’t show a lot either. Frankly he seems injury prone to me, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he has another season ending injury this year. I hope for Crist’s sake that you’re right and he makes it to the NFL. He seems like a great kid, and has worked hard.

“Its a free country…” You sound like a third grader with that type of argument.

“Kelly tried jamming his lousy system down DCs throat instead of building the offense around his talents but it’s over and all I know is ND still doesn’t have a QB.”–Lousy system? So when he was going undefeated at Cincinatti with a QB similar to DC (Tony Pike) it was just a lousy system? This makes absolutely no sense. Kelly is trying to build a program at ND. The program was bigger than just Dayne Crist (Who has never started a game when kelly came) and it would make no sense to taylor the entire offense around Dayne. What if Dayne would have been a bust in a pro style too? What do you do then? Then your screwed. Kelly is trying to build the program back to relevance; not trying to pull a Weis and revolve it around quarterbacks. Secondly, you say ND stil doesn’t have a QB. You are away that kelly inherited ONE scholarship QB when he came to Notre Dame. ONE. Then since he was hired so late he had to take Rees/Hendrix just so he could have scholarship QBs. Golson was the first QB he recruited, and now he is most likely going to start. Just give it time man, its been 2 years.

“I personally want to see the reactions of people in ND nation when Crist is in the NFL while Rees is riding pine getting ready to move on to a 9-5 job.”—Being a great college QB and an NFL qb do not always overlap. Ex- Robinson, Tebow, Rice, Leaf, Pat White ect ect. I dont really care what happens in the NFL because it doesn’t affect NDs wins other than possible recruits. I want a QB who will succeed for Notre Dame first and thats what truly matters.

Last word from ND was that Golson ran the 40 in 4.8. He is not a runner. He is more of a guy that keeps plays alive by scrambling in the pocket but you will never see him do what that scUM QB does. But I’m guessing EG is a better passer than Robinson. I pray he stops fumbling the ball.

Everett is clearly very quick on the field. While I wouldn’t compare him to Denard in his speed, he’s instinctually elusive, knows how to extend plays, keep his eyes downfield, and has lots of poise.

He’s not a runner like Hendrix, who can hit the gap hard with the zone read option and take on linebackers, but Everett will run the ball downfield from the rollout if DBs don’t come up and respect his running ability. Hendrix is a runner and Golson a scrambler, but both will do great things with their feet and neither would get caught by a cop or cabby.

I need to ask why some people are excited about this season? I have to believe its the kids in their early 20s all jacked up about this up coming season. Ive been around enough to not get fooled a third time.

Year 5 for Kelly looks like the chance for a big year as long as recruiting stays strong. 2012 is going to get ugly. Losses to MSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, USC, and Stanford.

Love him or hate him ND is stuck with Kelly. Can’t keep rebuilding every four years with hiring and firing. 8 wins a year and high graduation rate is what ND is all about now. It’s a program doing it the right way. Sadly Rick Reilly wouldn’t mention that or the fact ND has the largest fan base in the nation.

If ND consistently won 8 games a year then popped for and 11 win campaign out of nowhere I’d be pretty happy.

Why not ‘0’ loss (and possibly come out that way)? Hey, we haven’t started the season yet; I reserve the right to be optimistic.

If we play to the level of talent we have on our team, the only 2 games where we are truly overmatched are OK and USC, we should be even with UM and I like our chances against MSU and Stanford. 10-2 (or 9-3, if you are thinking one loss against one of the Michigans) is very much possible if we don’t continue to beat ourselves with turnovers.

People are excited about this season because we’re excited about every season. We’re Notre Dame fans – many of us were fed the kool-aid as students there – and look for reasons to hope for glory every single season.

I was fortunate to have been at ND for two national championships, Joe Montana, Rudy (though, I barely remember that), Ross Browner, Bob Golic, Ara and Dan, King Kersten, etc. I got reinvigorated in the late 80s and early 90s and desperately hope to get back to that level. It’s been too long, but hope reemerges every summer.

The interleaved interviews of Hendrix and Golson are pretty good in this piece.

I agree with others that it is extremely likely that Golson will get the nod, but Hendrix shows good attitude here and is an articulate kid. As the QB of Notre Dame, I hope they give Everett some personal media skill instruction. He has natural charm, but could become way smoother with a bit of training.

Quite honestly, either of these two quarterbacks leading the Irish this year would be an upgrade. I do feel like Everett is a better quarterback with his skill set, scrappy style of running, arm, and not to mention, 4 full years of eligibility. I will be happy with either at the helm and will trust that BK will make the best decision. If Everett will be our quarterback for the next 4 years, I hope that Hendrix will transfer. The guy deserves an opportunity as a starting quarterback. He is a great athlete and a better person. I wish both the best and hope for a 10+ win year.

You are not alone in that opinion and might be right.
I just see a guy who is a tremendously gifted athlete (threw 95 MPH as a pitcher in HS) with a ton of passion; and a great teammate who seems to be miscast at QB.

He’s not terrible at all, but not good enough to get them to the next level either. This year he’s behind Golson; next year he’s likely behind Golson and Kiel.

So what a shame it would be if a guy like this spends his entire ND career mostly on the bench. I’d be surprised if this has not been discussed to some degree among the staff.

nudie – you have been standing alone on your little mountain for ever so long saying that Hendrix should be moved to safety next year, and for the most part you have been subjected to withering scorn from all the genii (plural of genius) who seem to cluster around this site.

Now at long last someone – The distinguished Mr. Patrick Hannegan – has come forth to agree with you. I congratulate him on his courage and to you, YOU GO GIRL!!!

I am excited for this season but I think the real payoff is in a couple of years. I think what Kelly brings in terms of a work ethic, a recruiting system and his coaching staff is going to pay off. Clearly he struggles with his “image” and his handling of QB’s, but you have to be impressed with the types of RKG’s he has recruited. Building up both the defensive line and offensive line has been huge and is going to pay off. If he can get the QB settled and can just learn to live with some mistakes, they will be ok. As bad as last year was we have 4 crazy things happen (SF fumble return, Mich comeback, USC fumble return, and Florida St. 2nd half.) We could have won all those games been 11-1… Really it wasn’t that far from that.

The question is was that bad luck or coaching? Probably in the middle, but I think (hope) Kelly will improve his demeanor this season, set his QB and run a lot!

BTW, If we can recruit a few WR and CB (which tend to be the diva athletes that ND doesn’t get) we could be really special in 2 years.

Even without the fumble return against USC, we would have to play out of our skin to win that game. It’s true that our defense kept things close, but they looked like a better team. We could/should have won the other 3… just my 2 cents.

I don’t see anything wrong with Kelly’s demeanor – I live down in SEC country and I see Saben and Miles constantly yelling and screaming – Heck, Steve Spurrier throws absolute tantrums and visors and the medis smiles and hucks it up an calls him the “Ole Ball Coach.” I love the fact that Kelly is animated after “Gomer Pyle Davie, Stoic Willingham, and lost in the clouds Weis. I guess Notre Dame coaches are suppossed to be complete gentlemen. I do remember Holtz dragging a lineman off the field by his facemask.

Kelly brings an energy, a stuborn energy and that is what drives us crazy – he is going to shape the team. I expect this team will be special.

I love the selection of Golson as starting QB and really believe that he gives us the best chance of winning, based on my limited observations. The thing that scares me the most is the comparison to Mike Vick. I think the comparison is apt but Vick sure does get hurt a lot for all his scrambling. In fact, the biggest news for Philly fans this week was that Vick’s rib xrays were negative. The D lines that Golson will face will be a lot bigger than he saw in SC (except for Clowney). Anyway, he’s got the sizzle and I hope game day proves he’s got the steak as well and that he stays healthy. We can’t move Hendrix to safety just yet, as we will need a competent back up sooner or later (hopefully never) but all it takes is one good slobberknocker. 6′ 185 is not the best matchup against a linebacker closing in at full tilt. That said, I hope he excels and avoids injury on the way to a 10 win season.

On Hendrix to safety, I am a lone voice on that, but want to be clear: That is a NEXT year thing. They actually need him this year for the reasons you cite: Golson with his slight frame most likely can’t last the whole year without getting knocked around pretty hard. A rib here, a stinger there, etc.

Hendrix can and should be used for ~10-15 snaps every game to mitigate the possibility of injury to Golson, and also because he can add value on his own.
I don’t think he’s a bum.
I just don’t believe he is a #1 start-every-game-QB for a team that wants to be in the BCS conversation.

Anybody watch college football live last night. Apparently in the eyes of Calloway and pollack the loss of lo wood men’s gloom and doom for the season since ND has no ability to put pressure on or rush the passer.